If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Technology developed by a company called NEC has been utilized to introduce biometric ticketing on the opening day of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. This pilot was undertaken at four designated baseball parks‚ including Minute Maid Park in Houston‚ where it was revealed that around 6‚000 eager baseball fans favored convenience and used the touchless technology for entry to the stadium. Nationals Park in Washington incorporated the biometric tech through MLB’s Go-Ahead Entry system into their opening day proceedings. Using the MLB Ballpark app for touchless access‚ ballpark attendees could breeze through dedicated entrances using face biometrics enrolled via a selfie. Notably‚ Nationals Park has four such specialized lanes providing quick and easy access to fans who use the new system. The Phillies are also implementing the system across the entire stadium following a trial run at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. The year prior saw the introduction of facial recognition technology for game admission in New York for the Mets games and in Cleveland for Guardians games. The ongoing deployment of the biometric ticketing program is managed by the league‚ rather than individual teams. The introduction of biometric ticketing in MLB stadiums raises significant privacy concerns. Firstly‚ the use of biometrics‚ particularly facial recognition‚ for accessing events like baseball games is a step towards normalizing invasive surveillance techniques in everyday life. Unlike traditional ticketing methods‚ biometric data is inherently personal and sensitive. Facial recognition technology works by collecting and analyzing unique facial features to create a digital signature. This process involves the collection and storage of highly personal data‚ which could be vulnerable to breaches or misuse. If such data falls into the wrong hands‚ it could lead to identity theft‚ unauthorized tracking‚ or other forms of exploitation. The post Major League Baseball Begins Biometric Facial Recognition Scans appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

A stray cat moved out from under a porch and in with kind people. The next morning‚ they woke up to kittens in the office. Cleo the cat and her kittensWilmaCleo‚ a young stray cat‚ was alone and wary when she first sought shelter under the porch of a home. The resident noticed her one day and began providing food and slowly befriended her."About a month ago‚ they suspected she was pregnant and contacted Eliannie Animal Rescue to get her into foster care. Cleo was tame enough at that point that she'd go into their house for brief amounts of time‚" Wilma‚ a foster volunteer of the rescue‚ shared with Love meow.They secured the cat into a crate and brought her to Wilma on a Friday afternoon. Cleo was nervous but quickly eased into being petted. CleoWilmaCleo seemed pleased with her new space‚ a quiet‚ comfortable room with boundless food and all the amenities. "I could feel babies in her belly but didn't think she was giving birth imminently."That night‚ Wilma went to bed after checking on Cleo‚ having little idea what was about to unfold the next day. She was a young cat when she was rescued as a strayWilma"I woke up on Saturday morning and heard kittens crying in my office."Cleo had given birth to two kittens on the base of a cat tree. Wilma raced to set up a nest and helped the mama move her babies in. She stayed with Cleo‚ offering support and encouraging words‚ until the last kitten was born. The day after arriving in foster care‚ Cleo gave birth to her kittensWilma"By the time she was finished‚ she trusted me. She has no problem with me handling her babies and seems to know she's in a safe place."Despite their best efforts‚ one of the four kittens didn't survive. The remaining three (Leila‚ Dalila‚ and Ramses) had good appetites and started to grow and thrive. Wilma"Cleo is a wonderful and attentive mom to her babies‚ going to them at the first squeak. The first 48 hours‚ she only left them to eat and use the litter box."A few days later‚ there was another twist. While Cleo was tending to her babies‚ the sound of a new kitten caught her attention. She is a loving and attentive motherWilmaA tiny tabby had been found in a yard without a mother to look after him. When Cleo saw the orphaned baby in her nest‚ she took him in and started caring for him. "We decided to see if Cleo would adopt him‚ and she did. She groomed him and allowed him to nurse.""We lose one‚ we gain one. The universe is keeping the balance." Cleo adopted an orphaned baby who needed a momWilmaThe little tabby named Moshe is half the size of his new siblings‚ but he is scrappy‚ strong-willed‚ and has a big voice."I believe he was only born a few days ago. He fights off the bigger kids with the best of them. Who can blame him after what he's endured in his short life already?" Moshe the new kitten is half the size of the othersWilmaCleo showers her four little munchkins with unconditional love and watches over them every step of the way. "I'm so grateful this family is inside with care." WilmaAfter raising her last litter‚ Cleo‚ who is only nine months old‚ will be able to enjoy being a kitten again‚ do what she loves with the family of her dreams‚ and live the good life she deserves. WilmaShare this story with your friends. More on Cleo and her kittens and Wilma's fosters on Instagram and Eliannie Animal Rescue on Instagram.Related story: Kitten Running Away from Rescuers for 20 Days Finally Moves Indoors‚ within 24 Hours‚ Everything Changes

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Welcome to the wonderful world of thunder eggs. They might look plain from the outside‚ but can be cut and polished to reveal a whole range of colors and crystals within‚ and are popular with the rock collecting community. Thunder eggs‚ also known as lithophysae‚ are spherical objects formed in silica-rich volcanic rock‚ often a rock called rhyolite. The name “thunder egg” is said to originate from Native American folklore that says these rounded rocks were the eggs of the mythical thunderbirds that created thunder and lightning during storms‚ hence the name. Other legends suggest that thunder eggs were thrown during thunderstorms by warring “thunder spirits" who lived on Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood.              All thunder eggs start life as volcanic lava. As this lava cools‚ material is trapped around gas bubbles. Over time‚ these gas bubbles crack and allow the gas to escape‚ leaving behind a hollow cavity. Silica and other minerals including feldspar from volcanic ash can be deposited in this cavity‚ hardening to deposit near solid cores of chalcedony or agate or quartz crystals which form the core of a thunder egg. The minerals often grow outwards from the center of the cavity‚ forming radiating structures called spherulites.The hollow cavity is filled with crystal structures or layers.Image Credit: Wirestock Creators/ShutterstockSome thunder eggs can be identified based on their crystal composition and the naturally occurring minerals in the area. For instance‚ the Del Norte Area in Colorado is known for thunder eggs containing plume and moss agate. There is some confusion surrounding the difference between geodes and thunder eggs. While some suggest geodes are any rock with a void inside and thunder eggs are solid‚ some suggest that thunder eggs are different because they were formed only by lava flow while geodes can be formed in many different ways.  Thunder eggs can be found all over the world. The most common place to find thunder eggs in the USA is Oregon‚ where thunder eggs have been the state rock since 1965. All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.  

A lot of cool things are going to happen when the Moon obscures the Sun on Monday. If you are in the path of totality‚ which extends from Mexico to Canada‚ this celestial encounter will bring a few minutes of darkness to your day. Your eyes will obviously be on the sky but they will wander to earthly things as well and‚ for that reason‚ scientists have outfit suggestions.You should be wearing red and green together if possible because something cool will happen to how the colors appear to our eyes. The reds will be dark and muted while the greens stay vibrant. This is known as the Purkinje effect and takes us back to the beginning of human understanding of vision.Czech anatomist Jan Evangelista Purkyn realized that during a walk at dawn‚ the colors of flowers appeared different than during the bright afternoon Sun. He suggested that the eye must have two systems to see colors which‚ 200 years ago‚ got him quite close to the actual explanation.Vision in the eye happens thanks to receptors called rods and cones. They are located on the retina and they do very different things. At low light levels‚ rods are the one that gets active. They do not help with the colors and have low spatial acuity. This is known as the scotopic vision. When there’s a lot of light‚ it’s the cones that are active‚ which bring the high spatial acuity and the ability to see colors. This is called photopic vision.    But there is a third vision when the light levels are in between dark and bright. It is called mesopic vision and both cones and rods are active. If at dawn or dusk‚ your eyesight seems worse‚ that is why. So you might start seeing the connection with the eclipse. At totality‚ the sky darkens very suddenly so your eyes have no time to get used to the usual slow change you experience at dawn or dusk.Reds will all of sudden appear much darker than they did a few minutes before. Greens on the other hand will be brighter. Hence the suggestion of the colors for garments. The sudden change will be quite striking‚ so it is worth engineering the presence of those colors around you.Remember this is just a physiological effect‚ you won’t be able to photograph it. If you want to photograph the eclipse‚ however‚ we have a few suggestions. And also stay safe: many warnings have been issued for the path of totality and never look at the Sun without proper glasses. Be safe and be smart about it.

Throughout the ups and downs of Earth’s climatic history‚ forests have moved in response to changing environmental conditions. As glaciers retreated after the last Ice Age‚ trees swooped in to fulfill the freed-up real estate‚ but climate change in the modern era is happening too rapidly for their shifts to keep up. Enter‚ the DREAM team.What is assisted migration?The Desired REgeneration through Assisted Migration (DREAM) project aims to safeguard forests by speeding up the process of their distribution responding to the environment through assisted migration. Temperature is just one of several factors that can influence a forest to get a wiggle on‚ with other drivers including pest outbreaks and windstorms. Now‚ science can help them do it a bit faster.“The main threat posed by climate change is that tree species and populations within species have adapted‚ over centuries‚ to the climatic conditions present where they exist – their niche‚” the DREAM team told IFLScience.  “As the pace of climate change accelerates and outpaces historical averages‚ these climatic niches tend to move poleward (further north in the Northern hemisphere) and upward in slope in mountainous areas‚" the team explained. "As this occurs‚ tree populations become increasingly stranded in unfavorable climatic conditions‚ and their pace of natural migration‚ through seed dispersal‚ is largely unable to track the shifting climatic niches.”A drone shot of one of the experimental plantation units in Quebec.Images courtesy of the DREAM team.Part of the problem is that migration of tree species tends to come down to orders of tens to hundreds of meters per year‚ the team explained‚ whereas the climatic shifts are occurring in hundreds to thousands per year. In short‚ the rate of change is outpacing forests’ capacity to respond – but science can help them get ahead.“Our own work suggests that the pace of these changes will create novel future climate conditions by late this century for 28 percent of the eastern US if carbon emissions are moderately reduced from current levels and 46 percent of the area if carbon emissions continue unmitigated‚” continued the DREAM team. “By deliberately moving tree species or populations beyond where they might reasonably disperse in a climatically informed manner‚ assisted migration provides a tool to help adapt forests to ongoing and anticipated changes.”The complicationsWorking out how to outpace climatic change isn’t easy‚ however‚ as moving away from one problem can put a forest in the path of another. Through examining how different species respond to their geographic shifts‚ the team also hopes to identify which species and populations could perform well as the climate continues to change‚ as well as develop the “silviculture scenarios” that will help managers plant the forests of tomorrow‚ today.A conifer germinant enrolled in the DREAM team's research.Image credit: Patricia Raymond‚ via the DREAM project“DREAM is not simply a test of assisted migration‚” said the team. “Rather‚ it examines assisted migration success or failure under multiple forest management scenarios including variation in overstory openness‚ light availability‚ browsing pressure‚ and neighboring plant competitors. This information will be critical‚ for example‚ as individuals from a particular species or population might possess the physiological ability to succeed under a given climate‚ but only if managers ensure they are protected from deer browsing or keep faster-growing competitors controlled.”With an international network of sites already on the move‚ the DREAM team already have years of data to work from and several future planting sites already in the pipeline. Alongside their planting‚ they aim to conduct experiments to determine how flexible certain species are to extreme heat and drought‚ indicating how forests and tree species may respond to extreme conditions. The future of Earth's forests remains uncertain in a rapidly changing world‚ but through their insights‚ the DREAM team hopes to keep our management one step ahead.

At first glance‚ this might just look like strangely symmetrical rock. However‚ researchers have recently taken a deeper look at the object and speculate that it may be a prehistoric sand sculpture of a stingray. If that’s true‚ it would make the relic the oldest known artwork of another animal. It was discovered in 2018 along the cliffs near Still Bay‚ about 330 kilometers (205 miles) east of Cape Town on South Africa’s coast. Along with its remarkable symmetry‚ some noticed the rock's shape had an uncanny similarity to the shape of a stingray‚ albeit with its tail snapped off.In a new study‚ researchers at Nelson Mandela University investigated this idea and concluded that the object was created as a sand sculpture to depict a blue stingray (Dasyatis chrysonata). The team overlaid images of a blue stingray‚ a native of Africa's southern coast‚ with the rocky object and highlighted how they closely match in size and proportions.To create the object‚ they contend that a prehistoric human may have come across a stingray along the water’s shore and traced around it‚ a bit like a child making a sandcastle. “This is the first and thus far the only example that suggests tracing from this time period. The chances of something like this being preserved and amenable to our interpretation are remote‚ so it is possible that this may be the only example ever identified‚ but we can always hope that more will become apparent‚” Charles Helm‚ lead study author and Research Associate from the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience at Nelson Mandela University‚ told IFLScience. The base of the sandy object‚ which the researchers speculate was a tail that has since been snapped off.Image courtesy of Jan De VynckAs distant observers‚ we can only speculate why someone might have decided to trace around this stranded stingray‚ although there are a few reasons why it could have been a creature of significance to an "ancient artist”.“First might be the ease of tracing a rather flattish creature. Second might be its value as a food source. Third might be that it was indeed potentially lethal for people used to wandering along the beach and in estuaries‚ so it might have commanded fear and respect‚” explained Helm. To date the object‚ the researchers used a technique known as optically stimulated luminescence. This technique shows how long ago a grain of sand was exposed to sunlight‚ thereby showing how long that section of sediment has been buried. It suggested the object was most likely created during the Middle Stone Age around 130‚000 years ago.Given the age of the ray-shaped object‚ it’s fairly bold to claim it was a crafted sculpture. This was long before art of this kind had arrived on the scene and some 90‚000 years prior to the emergence of representational cave art in Eurasia.The oldest uncontested example of figurative art – that is‚ an artwork that retains strong references to the real world –  is a 45‚000-year-old cave painting of a pig on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Before the explosion of cave art from around 40‚000 years onwards‚ artwork was limited to abstract shapes or patterns.While the researchers are cautious about their conclusions‚ the argument is not totally out of step with art’s development in the Paleolithic. The study argues that sand tracing might have served as a possible “stepping stone” between abstract images and images of creatures. Indeed‚ archaeologists have previously put forward a similar theory about how hand stencil artworks might have served as a similar transition from abstract shapes to representational forms.The evolution of artwork is crucial for understanding the story of humans. By looking at the development of visual culture‚ we can gain some important insights into what ancient human cultures perceived to be important and how their world became increasingly complex. The suggestion of a 130‚000-year-old animal sculpture may initially seem slightly anachronistic‚ but human history is full of strange outliers that challenge our presumptions.The new study is published in the journal Rock Art Research. Find out more about the earliest known works of art in the latest issue of CURIOUS‚ IFLScience's e-magazine‚ out now.

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